PS4 and Xbox 720 to be announced in March?

Sony and Microsoft are set to announce their next-generation consoles sooner than originally anticipated, according to a new report that pegs March press conferences for the consoles' debuts.

Some may presume E3, gaming's largest event, to be the time and place for the destined announcements, but according to the February issue of Game Informer, both companies will hold their own events.

Taking a page out of Apple's gaudy press conference playbook, both will have "Apple-style press conferences near the Game Developers Conference in late March". The Game Developers Conference is held in San Francisco on 25-29 March.

While a March debut of Sony's PS4 console sounds plausible, signs from Microsoft point to its introduction being a little later. Microsoft's Major Nelson posted a countdown to E3 on his webpage with the title "And it's on…", giving prospective customers plenty of Xbox 720 hype to fill their spirits.

In its report, Game Informer said Sony planned to give the PS4, dubbed the Orbis, a strong start to prevent Microsoft gaining any lead in market share.

While E3 may not be where both consoles are officially announced, Sony and Microsoft will use the event to hype the consoles and their respective games. Of course, we advise you to take rumours lightly, as time alone will tell the whole story.

Without a doubt, both of these consoles are set to dominate Christmas 2013, whenever the announcements occur.